The panel titled "Are we really geniuses on the global IT scene?" at this year's MoStart conference brought together leading experts from the IT industry who shared their experiences and thoughts on the position of our region on the global stage. The event was moderated by journalist Petar Štefanić.
Hrvoje Ćosić, the founder and CEO of Aircash, presented his company as a financial institution licensed by the Croatian National Bank, valid throughout the European Union. As he explained, Aircash—a mobile platform for payments, sending, and receiving money—operates in numerous European countries, including Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Romania, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Spain, France, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, with companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Albania.
Ćosić emphasized the importance of listening to users and adapting to their needs, highlighting that the key to success lies in execution. "Ideas are irrelevant, execution is what matters. We listen to our users. For example, through Aircash, you can pay for parking, top up your phone account, pay bills, deposit money into a bank, play the lottery, receive money from abroad, and more. We listened to our users and identified their needs," said Ćosić.
Speaking about the value and compensation of workers in the IT sector, Ćosić stressed that good and diligent workers who know how to do their job should be very well paid. "Smart and capable people will always be in demand and will always be valued," he emphasized.
Nikola Vrdoljak, Director and Partner at the 404 agency, discussed the significance of the IT sector in Croatia's overall economy. Although Croatia's IT sector contributes 5% to GDP, which is on par with the EU average, Vrdoljak noted that countries like Romania and Bulgaria have a higher share. Nevertheless, Croatia stands out due to the success of companies like Sofascore, Rimac, and Infobip. He also pointed out that wages in the IT sector are stagnating due to the crisis, particularly among exporters tied to the crypto and US markets.
"Wages are stagnating in the IT sector; we are facing some sort of crisis, primarily among exporters. Those who were tied to crypto were hit first, followed by those linked to the US market, and then exporters in general, especially those tied to startups. Incredibly, those who were focused on the Croatian market have fared much better. A lot depends on the client structure. The Croatian, regional, and even European and US IT markets are in crisis," Vrdoljak added.
Marko Laco, founder and CEO of the IT Odjel company from Bosnia and Herzegovina, said that his company focused on collaboration with the public sector and security agencies. Speaking about artificial intelligence, Laco emphasized that its application is inevitable.
"Artificial intelligence is coming, and it’s up to us to start applying it as widely as possible to solve challenges that would be more expensive to address in other ways," he stressed.
He praised the progress of students from the University of Mostar and emphasized that the environment in our region needs to adapt to support innovation.
"A person is a product of upbringing, education, and environment. People in our region are well-raised, have a culture that shapes them as they grow up, and attend high-quality studies, educating themselves to global standards. The environment in our region is what holds us back, and I learned that in America, where you get encouragement and investment for an idea. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, if you have a successful business and apply for a project at a bank, it would be difficult to get an opportunity. Our environment needs the most adaptation to the challenges ahead so that we can exceed average levels of brilliance," Laco said.
Dženan Lojo, Director of TIS Group, said that the group was founded back in 1989 and that their primary business includes products for the financial industry and services provided within the financial sector.
"In Croatia, half of the money transactions pass through our software. Practically everyone is our user; they just aren’t aware of it. We are now developing an innovative product in healthcare where we have solved a problem that had not been addressed globally before. We can identify whether neurodevelopmental deviations will occur in children as they develop. We have many patients from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mostar, and the surrounding areas," Lojo noted.
In addition to their own products, he said that a good portion of their revenue comes from services, emphasizing that a good service company is better than a poor product company. He added that they provide services for public administration, tax authorities, customs, and other services in Croatia, while in Slovenia, they also work for the police.
He advised young people to keep learning because anyone who is valuable today will be able to earn well and be properly compensated for their work.
The second edition of the MoStart conference was held from April 24 to 26, 2024, at the University of Mostar. The conference was organized by the University of Mostar and the Center for Information Technology of the University of Mostar - SUMIT, in collaboration with the Croatian Academic and Research Network CARNET, the Agency for Commercial Activities – AKD, the Ministry of Science, Education, Culture, and Sports of HBŽ, the Ministry of Education, Science, Youth, Culture, and Sports of SBŽ, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports of ŽZH, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports of the Posavina County, the Institute for Education of ŽZH and HBŽ, and the Institute for Schooling of Mostar.
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